Europe's Frozen Conflicts: Kosovo, Transnistria and Eastern Ukraine

State disintegration at the end of the Cold War led to a surge in identity-based violence from the Balkans to the Caucasus. Despite some successful conflict-resolution in the former Soviet bloc, problems continue to simmer below the surface across much of Eastern Europe.

Kosovo, Transnistria and eastern Ukraine are stark examples. All three remain frozen in ethnic competition and power-claims, spurred on by paramilitary groups with the backing of larger powers – most particularly by Russia.

How can these entrenched conflicts be brought to long-term resolution? This discussion explores the complexities of these three regions and ask how external powers such as the USA and the EU might work to bring about peace and stability in Europe’s most troubled territories.

Watch

Listen

This event was held on Friday 26 February.

Cristina Gherasimov serves as foreign policy advisor to the President of the Republic of Moldova since January 2021. Previously, she worked at the German Council on Foreign Relations, Transparency International Defence and Security, and at Chatham House with the Russia and Eurasia Programme. Her expertise includes democratic transitions and institution-building in Central and Eastern Europe and post-communist states. Cristina holds a PhD in Political Science from Rutgers University, New Jersey.

Julia Himmrich is an Associate at LSE IDEAS. She wrote her PhD at LSE on the German and European recognition of Kosovo's statehood as and contributed to the edited volume Armakolas and Ker-Lindsay (ed) 'The Politics of Recognition and Engagement EU Member State Relations with Kosovo'.

James Sherr is Senior Fellow of the Estonian Foreign Policy Institute at the International Centre for Defence and Security.

Mary Kaldor is a Professor of Global Governance and Director of the Conflict Research Programme at LSE IDEAS.

Twitter hashtag for this event: #LSEConflict

20:20 Visions: conversations on the future of democracy is a series of online discussions on current challenges to democracy faced by Central and Eastern Europe, hosted by LSE IDEAS and the Ratiu Forum.

LSE IDEAS (@lseideas) is LSE's foreign policy think tank. We connect academic knowledge of diplomacy and strategy with the people who use it.